Packing device



June 7, E W MAYERS PACKING DEVICE Filed June 15, 193] 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 E. W. MAYERS June 7, 1932.

PACKING DEVICE Filed June 13, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented June 7, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I ERIC WILLIAM MAYERS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR T CLAYTON MAYEES 8; COMPANY LIMITED, 01? LONDON, ENGLAND, A BRITISH COMPANY PACKING DEVICE Application filed June 13, 1931,-Seria1N0. 544,125, and in Great Britain January 31, 1931.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to packing devices.

In one method of packing fragile articles for storage or transport it has hitherto been 5 customary to employ rigid boxes or crates of wood or the like in which the separate articles are prevented from coming into contact with one another by resilient packing material such for example as wood-wool, straw, sawdust or shavings of paper. This method of packaging is expensive on account of the high price of the wooden boxes and crates employed, and as the containers are made of relatively heavy material, the weight of the container accounts for a considerable proportion of the weight of the whole package, and this adds to the cost of transport accordingly. With a view to economizing the weight of containers, the use of boxes made of cardboard, fibreboard and the like has become common for packing side by side a number of similar non-fragile articles, such as cigarette-boxes, which are of such a form as to keep the container in shape. The use of light boxes having flexible walls for the packing of fragile articles, or of assorted goods which require to be separated from one another and from the walls of the box by resilient packing material, or of goods which are themselves resilient, presents difficulties because the box tends to lose its shape and hence its strength during the process of pack- It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for maintaining the shape of a flexible-walled box during the process of packing and closing it in such a way that the loss of shape mentioned above may be avoided. The present invention comprises a packing device for holding and closing a flexible-walled container during the operation of packing which comprises rigid supporting walls which can be assembled to fit closely F about the container and a rigid closing memher for pressing the closure of the container into position and holding it until it has been secured.

In order that the empty container may be placed easily within the rigid supporting b0 walls and withdrawn readily when packed and closed, one or more of the supporting walls are made movable, and in a preferred construction a pair of opposite walls are hinged to the side between them and open outwards to permit of the ready insertion and removal of the container; and in order to assist still further in this direction, the fourth supporting side wall of the packing device may be completely removable. When the packing device is in its closed position, the three movable supporting sidewalls may be secured, for example, by means of hooks or sliding bolts.

The rigid closing member may exert pressure upon the closure of the box by means of closing gear temporarily connected between one end of the closing member and one of a pair of side walls, while the other end of the closing member is temporarily hinged to the opposite side wall of the pair.

The closures of flexible-walled containers are usually secured by gluing together'overlapping flaps or gluing abutting flaps to oppositelyfolded flaps beneath, and it is usual practice to attach the closure more securely by sticking strips of adhesive paper or cloth along the joint between abutting flaps or across the closure and down the sides of the container. In order that such strips may be applied over the closures of boxes packed with the aid of the present packing device, the closing member may consist of two or more spaced components operated by separate or connected closing gear. The strips of adhesive paper may then be applied between the components of the closing member while the closure is maintained in position, and in order that these strips may continue down the sides of the container the sides may be cut away opposite the spaces between the components of the closing member.

The inner surface of the sides and bottom of the packing device may be grooved to accommodate strips of metal or the like in those cases in which such strips are to surround the package for the purpose of strengthening it.

The packing device may, if desired, be mounted on wheels or castors and arrangements may be provided for tilting the framework for convenience in packing.

An apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure l is a perspective view of a packing device with its front wall and closing members removed and an empty carton inserted;

Figure 2 isa perspective view-of the packing device shown in Figure 1 with its sides closed, front wall inserted and closing members attached;

Figure 3 is a back view of the closed packing device;

Figure 4 isaside view of the'apparatus, and V Figures 5 and 6 are side views of part of the apparatus showing modified forms of closing gear.

In all the figures corresponding parts are indicated by the same reference numerals.

Referring particularly to Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, a metal framework 1 has bolted to .it a wooden deck 2 and back wall 3 of the l The sides 6 and 7 are provided with metal lugs8and9 moving in slotted plates 10 and 11 secured to the deck 2 and so positioned that when the sides 6 and 7 are in their closed 13081131011 the lugs bear against the inner end "of the slots.

The front wall 12 is fitted with a pair of metal tongues 13- and 14 which drop into a co-operatinggpair of-slots 15 and .16 in the deck 2.

The sideand front walls are held together temporarily-by angle members 18 and 19 fixed to the front wall and by projecting fingers .20and21 also fixed to the front walland en- .gagingin hooks :22 and 23 fixed to the side walls 6' and 7 and extending beyond the front edges of thosewalls in a forward direction. The closing member consists of two independently operated sections 24 and 25 separated by a distance of three inches or so to enable an adhesive strip to be applied to the closedilaps 41 and 42 of the carton 26 along the line of the ,joint. Each of the sections 24 and 25 is temporarily hinged by means of a hook or link 27 and 28 to one ofthe hinged sides'7 -and can be drawn down to its closed position against the resistance of packing material at the top of the package by means of links hooked to the end of the section 24 and 25 and the'hinged side 6 respectively and pulled together by means of a lever 29.

The linkage may preferably comprise 1) one link 30 loosely pivoted at 31 on the free end of the lid members 24 and'25'; (2) a sec- 34 at the outer end (low-er end when closed) this link may in its closed position be convex outwards; and (3) a third link 35 pivoted to the second link near its nose 33 at 36 or inner end and arranged to be hooked on to a hook wards) the closing member 24, 25 fits tightly upon theside walls 6.and 7 of the container and the said handle fits snugly against the adj acentside wall. The hinged sides 6and 7 .are cut away at 38 and 39 opposite the space separating the two-closing sections 24 and 25 in orderthat the ends of an adhesive strip may be fastened to the sides-of the container 26 along the joint between theflaps 41 and 42.

A. shallow groove 40, rectangular in section, runs down inside the middleof the back 3 and front 12 and along the bottom to take a thin steel strip which is to be joined under tension by one of the well-known arrangements for the purpose around the packed container after the closure has been secured.

Figure '5 shows a modified construction in which the linkage is permanently attached to one of the sides of the packing device. A closing member 24 is shod at its ends 43 and 44 with metal, the metal terminating in upturned ends or horns 45 and 46. The upturned end 45 passes under a horizontal metal bar or bail 47. The linkage 29, 30 and 35 is pivotally secured to one of the side Walls'at 48 while the free end of the link 30 hooks over the upturned metalend 46-of the closing member 24.

is pivoted at v50 to brackets-51 secured to the side wall 6 of the packing device and the link 49 has pivotally attached to itat 52a triangular link 53.- This link 53slips over the upi is.-

turned metal projection 54 attached to the closing members 24 and 25 the oppositeends of which are provided with similar upturned metal projections 55. which slip under iron rods or bails 56'. It will be appreciated that the upturned projections 54 and55 may be so arranged that the closing members24 and 25 are interchangeable. The edges of the closing members and the edges of the sides 6 and 7 may be strengthened if desired with metal strips asat 57 and 58.

To operate the packing device the front 12 is removed. the'hinged sides 6 and 7 opened outwards so that the lugs 8 and9 bear against the outer end of the slots 10 and 11 (see Figure 1) the empty box-26 of fibreboard or the like (already closed and sealed at the bottom) inserted with a length of metal tape running round the groove 40-, and the sides 6 and 7 and front 12 replaced and temporarily held together by dropping the ends of the tongues 13 and 14 into the slots 15 and 16, raising the front 12 so that the projecting fingers pass over the hooks 22 and 23 secured to the side walls, pressing the front 12 against the ends of the side walls 6 and 7 so that the angle irons 18 and 19 pull the sides into register with the front and finally dropping the front wall 12 so that the fingers 20 and 21 pass behind the hooks 22 and 23. The goods are then packed into the container with the aid of resilient packing material, the pair of closing members 24 and 25 hooked to the side wall, the flaps of the container glued and 4 pressing into position by means of the closing members and levers and held in position until the glue has set. Meanwhile, a paper strip is glued upon the top and sides of the carton along the space between the two closing members 24 and 25. The closing members are then released and removed, and the ends of the metal strip overlapped and joined under tension by means of one of the wellknown tools for the purpose. Finally, the front and sides are separated, the former removed and the latter opened out and the package withdrawn. The deck and rear wall may be so supported that the container in stead of being upright is tilted forwards with its mouth towards the operator for convenience in packing.

Alternatively, the container may be adjustably secured so that the inclination of the container is vertical or may be varied at will.

I claim 1. A packing device for holding and closing a flexible-walled container during the operation of packing, which comprises a rigid base, a fixed back wall extending perpendicular to said base, a pair of side walls hinged to said back wall one at either end thereof, means for limiting the movement of said hinged side-walls, a front wall detachably mounted on the base and adapted to be secured to the side walls when the latter are at right angles to the back wall and closing gear comprising at least one closing member temporarily hinged at one end thereof to one of a pair of opposite vertical walls and means secured between the other end of the said closing member and the opposite side wall of the pair adapted forcibly to bring said closing member into its closed position.

2. A packing device for holding and closing a flexible-walled container during the op eration of packing as claimed in claim 1 wherein two or more closing members are spaced apart for the application of adhesive strips to the top of the container while held in position by the closing members.

3. A packing device for holding and closing a flexible-walled container during the operation of packing as claimed in claim 1 wherein the side walls are cut away from the top edge downwards for part of their height and for a width corresponding with that of the space between adjacent closing members for the application of adhesive strips across the top of the container and part way down the pair of opposite sides.

4. A packing device for holding and closing a flexible-walled container during the operation of packing as claimed in claim 1 wherein the inner surfaces of the walls are grooved to accommodate binding strips.

5. A packing device for holding and closing a flexible-walled container during the operation of packing as claimed in claim 1 wherein one of a pair of opposite sides is provided with a bar underneath which one end of the closing member passes and the opposite side of the pair has secured thereto a hinged link constituting a handle and a second link pivoted to the first and passing over the free end of the closing member.

6. A packing device for holding and closing a flexible-walled container during the op eration of packing which comprises a baseboard, a. back wall perpendicular thereto, a pair of side walls hinged to said back wall, lugs secured to the side walls moving in slots cut in the base-board for limiting the movement of said side walls, a front wall tongued to engage slots in the base-board and provided with angle pieces and fingers to engage the side walls and hooks secured thereto, a pair of closing members spaced apart and each held down at one end by a bar attached to one of the pair of side walls and at the other end by a link pivoted to a handle hinged to the other side wall of the pair, slots cut at the top of the side walls corresponding to the space between the closing members and a continuous groove on the inner surface of the back and front walls and along the base-board.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

ERIC WILLIAM MAYERS. 

